day(s) of rest

It's been a while...and I must confess:  my run streak is way over.  I was coming down with a nasty head cold and knew that if I didn't take some days off from running (because I couldn't take them off from work!), it would just get worse.  So last Monday was the last day of my run streak.  I took a few days off, threw in a day of Zumba, and finally got back to some mileage this past Monday.  And it felt gooooood!

While I'm bummed I wasn't able to make the run streak last longer, I'm proud of myself for how long it did last (and totally impressed with those still doing it - shout out to my cousin, Carol!!).  Never before have I run 15 days in a row.  Can't say that again!  I've also relearned a valuable lesson:  rest days are important.

I wasn't making every run an intense one, but I might have unconsciously tried to.  I wasn't running as far as I could each time, but like I mentioned before, it's hard to stop at just one mile...  It just turned out that right now, at this time, my body couldn't take it.  Fighting off the sickness was more important to me that fighting to keep the streak alive.

Because, in case you haven't heard, I've got a marathon to train for!  I think it was good to relearn this lesson now rather than halfway into my training.  It's good to take a day or two a week to let the muscles heal, let my body rest and repair before assaulting it again with miles and miles.  Even our Creator took a day off and created a whole day for us to be still - it's a built in rest day!!

I plan to get a few miles of speedwork in at the gym tonight - not my favorite.  Tomorrow night is Zumba (seriously, if you haven't tried it, get some friends together and head to the gym.  It's so fun!!  But mainly just for women...).  Saturday is going to be a long run; and I can't wait for it...  Sunday will be my day of rest, in more ways than one.